From a distance, the dogs appeared healthy. Then, West tugged a velvety brown ear up and revealed a series of scabs and cuts, and a coating of black ticks.

It's the kind of scene West sees all too frequently.

To try to reduce the number of such cases, Phoenix has launched a new task force dedicated to educating people about animal cruelty, improving animal-welfare laws and raising money to fund public-awareness campaigns.

West, an expert on animal-cruelty issues, recently joined the task force. The former Dallas-area police officer turned animal-welfare investigator for the Arizona Humane Society said he wanted to represent the non-profit group and help educate the public about animal cruelty, which is often unseen and under-reported.

Council members Michael Nowakowski and Thelda Williams said they created the group in the spring because of an unusual case.

On March 23, a tipster notified the city of dead dogs on a grassy vacant property near 15th Avenue and Baseline Road. Investigators found nine animal bodies. Further investigation revealed the dogs weren't victims of physical abuse, but that narrowed the possible causes of their deaths to disease, neglect or abandonment.

The landowner, CT Corporation System of Phoenix, learned of the bodies after the city sent a notice of violation. The company soon after tidied the grounds to avoid fines.

Without any tags to track down the owners and no witnesses, investigators will not likely solve the case.

The high number of dead dogs worried the council members, and the case raised public awareness.

Phoenix police investigate more than 250 reports of animal cruelty a year. They discover some cases are unfounded and dismiss them. A far larger number are never solved.

Of the 298 animal-cruelty reports the department received last year, they were unable to solve 203 of the cases -- or 68 percent.

In 2010, police looked into 259 cases, and were unable to solve 204 of them -- or 78 percent.

Police Cmdr. Tim Hampton, who is on the task force, said police largely blame the housing market crash and the recession for the large number of open cases. Families who couldn't pay their mortgages walked away from their homes and pets.

"The majority of cases responded to by the Arizona Humane Society and Phoenix Police Department are abandoned animals," Hampton said. "Because ownership of the animal cannot be clearly established, and the owner cannot be located or identified, many cases are not submitted for prosecution."

The Phoenix task force has 11 members, including Hampton, West, Nowakowski and Williams. The other members represent animal-welfare groups and local law-enforcement agencies. Rep. Kate Brophy McGee, a Republican representing northeast Phoenix, also sits on the task force.

Nowakowski said the group plans to study and recommend potential legislation to tweak animal-welfare laws to increase convictions.

"We're also looking at technology -- creating an app so that if somebody sees an abuse or even an animal laying on the side of the road, they can take a picture, tell the location, and answer questions" to report it, Nowakowski said.

The city launched a similar app for reporting neighborhood blight in Phoenix.

Williams said she told the task force at a recent meeting she'd like to see the group work closely with schools to teach children the importance of treating animals kindly.

She said the group will have to raise money to pay for these initial awareness efforts. "We'll set up an account" with the city, she said.

Nowakowski said the task force is under a deadline to spin off what he plans will be an ongoing private-public partnership to raise awareness about animal welfare. Its last formal meeting will be in December.

"Hopefully after December, the group will continue to operate more as a grass-roots effort -- more like our Block Watch and graffiti-busters groups," Nowakowski said.

"We need to educate people about just leaving their dogs even for five minutes in a car," he said. "We want to be really aggressive with this task force."

If you see a sick, abandoned, neglected or stray animal in distress, call the Arizona Humane Society at 602-997-7585, ext. 2073, to reach the Emergency Animal Medical Technician office, which is open daily 8 a.m.-7 p.m.

The technicians are trained to aid animals in need.

Phoenix Animal-Cruelty Task Force

Councilwoman Thelda Williams, co-chair.

Councilman Michael Nowakowski, co-chair.

Andrea Katsenes, Cox Communications.

Chris West, Arizona Humane Society.

Diane Simonian, community member.

Joey Ogburn, Project Angel Eyes.

John Tutelman, deputy city prosecutor.

Kari Nienstedt, Humane Society of the United States.

Kate Brophy McGee, state representative, R-Phoenix.

Shelley MacDonald, community member.

Cmdr. Tim Hampton, Phoenix Police Department.

Information: Contact Council members Nowakowski at 602-262-7492, and Williams at 602-262-7444.